Veg Chow Mein Recipe Recipe

for cooking noodles150 grams to 200plain or whole wheat noodles or flat noodles about 5.5 to 7 lb noodles5 cups to 6water or 1.25 to 1.5 litres waterteaspoon ¼saltteaspoon ½sesame oil or any other oilfor stir frying noodlescup ¾ to 1sliced button mushroomscup ¾grated or shredded carrotscup ¾shredded cabbage green or purple cabbagecup ¼ to ⅓finely chopped French beanscup ⅓finely chopped onions or 1 small to medium onion or 1 medium spring onion finely chopped (reserve the spring onions for garnish)cup ¼thinly sliced capsicum or about 1 small to medium bell pepper green or yellow or red, bell peppercup ¼sprouts optionalcup ⅓ to ½tofu cubes optional1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic1 teaspoon finely chopped celery optional2 teaspoon to 3 teaspoons green chilies finely chopped (skip if making for small kids) or add ¾ to 1chili sauce3 teaspoons soy sauce or add as required1 tablespoon tomato ketchup or add as required optionalteaspoon ½black pepper or white pepper powder add as required2 tablespoons teaspoon cornstarch + 2water corn starch is optional and can be skippedteaspoon ½rice vinegar or regular vinegar2.5 tablespoons to 3sesame oil or any other oilin salt as required addmoderation as soy sauce already has a lot of saltCook noodles according to the package instructions. the noodles don't need to cooked till al dente. since towards the end we will be just tossing the noodles with the stir fried veggies.
Drain the cooked noodles in a colander. rinse noodles in running water very well. this method stops the cooking process.
Add 1/2 tsp oil to the noodles. toss them well, so that the oil gets coated evenly on the noodles. this method gets rid of stickiness from the noodles. cover and keep the noodles aside.
When the noodles are cooking, you can chop & grate the veggies.
Prepare corn starch paste with 2 tsp corn starch and 2 tbsp. water. keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan or wok. on medium heat, first sauté the green chilies, ginger and garlic for about 30 seconds. green chilies add quite some heat in the dish. skip if you do not prefer them or if making for kids.
Add chopped onions or spring onions. sauté for a minute.
Add sliced mushrooms and finely chopped French beans.
Stir and sauté on a medium flame till the edges of the mushroom get lightly browned.
Add grated carrots, shredded cabbage and sliced bell pepper/capsicum.
Stir and increase the flame to a high. stir fry everything on a high flame for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add soy sauce. at this step you can also add tomato sauce or red chili sauce or green chili sauce. since we have already added green chilies, we have not added the chili sauce.
Season with black pepper or white pepper and salt.
Stir everything and then add the corn starch paste. stir the corn starch paste very well before adding to the stir fried vegetables.
Stir and sauté for a minute on medium flame.
Add the cooked noodles. increase the flame to high. mix and toss the noodles with the stir fried veggies.
Lastly add vinegar and give a final mix. switch off the flame.
Serve veg chow mein steaming hot in serving bowls. you can also garnish these stir fried noodles with about 1 to 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds and spring onion greens.